Saturday September 24, 2016

Snapchat is jumping into hardware with the debut of glasses that record up to 10 seconds of video at the tap of a button. The CEO admits it is very much a "toy" that will slowly roll out instead of getting a big release, but I think it may be a hit with the Snapchat crowd and their compulsion for capturing and sharing whatever they can.

Why use a pair of video sunglassesآ…instead of holding up your smartphone like everyone else? Because, Spiegel says, the images that result are fundamentally different. Spectacles’ camera uses a 115-degree-angle lens, wider than a typical smartphone’s and much closer to the eyes’ natural field of view. The video it records is circular, more like human vision. (Spiegel argues that rectangles are an unnecessary vestige of printing photos on sheets of paper.) As you record, your hands are free to pet dogs, hug babies or flail around at a concert. You can reach your arms out to people you’re filming, instead of holding your phone up, as Spiegel describes it, "like a wall in front of your face."